


Across the Universe

by roseswilsons



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Exy (All For The Game), Cats, Inspired by those neighbors that posted signs to their neighbors asking for their cat's name, Just a stupid thought in my head, Light-Hearted, M/M, Sir & King Make an Appearance, Soccer, just my 2am thoughts, made up sports team names, sorry if they're OOC, thought it was fitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25198387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseswilsons/pseuds/roseswilsons
Summary: “His neighbor's apartment felt so far away as if it was all the way across the universe and Neil fought the temptation to rip the sign down before his neighbor even had a chance to respond. He pushed down his bubbling anxiety and ignored Matt's messy scrawl.What is the orange cat called?”OR5 times Neil saw his neighbor's cat in the window & the 1 time he met it.
Relationships: Matt Boyd & Neil Josten, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 5
Kudos: 146





	Across the Universe

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy this fic I wrote because I immediately thought of andreil when these circulated twitter.  
> Based off these interactions: https://www.boredpanda.com/asking-cat-name-signs-window/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
> 
> If y'all wanna talk...  
> twitter: roseswilsons  
> tumblr: kevienday

**1.**

The first time Neil saw his neighbor’s cat, he had briefly glanced out the window to check the weather and the little ball of fur had caught his eye. He had never really noticed his neighbors it was lounging across his neighbor’s windowsill basking in the warm afternoon sun. It twitched a little in its sleep, its tail making a brief appearance before disappearing once more. The cat was a bright orange against the dark blackout curtains that adorned his neighbor’s windows. He watched it sleep for a few seconds before a pair of pale hands appeared from behind the curtain, grabbing the cat from its warm slumber. The hands whisked the cat away without any resistance leaving Neil to stare at nothing. 

Neil didn’t think anything of it as his own cat King meowed and wound her way around his legs in the way that she usually does when she’s hungry or if she feels like being annoying. He huffed a laugh and scooped the small cat into his arms, cradling her. 

“Come on, you big baby. Let’s go feed you,” Neil said. Her only response came in the form of a content purr that vibrated his arms. 

Before he turned to get King her dinner, he spared one last glance at the now empty windowsill and its mysterious owner. It didn’t matter. It’s not like he would really see that cat around again. He’d been in his apartment for months now and hadn’t caught a glimpse of that orange fur ball until that day. His chances were one in a million. 

**2.**

The second time his neighbor’s cat made an appearance Matt was over at his cramped apartment to watch their weekly soccer games and catch up. It was mostly Matt asking Neil about everything he had done that week with a bit of watching the game dispersed throughout. For now, Matt’s attention was half focused on the soccer game being broadcast on Neil’s crappy TV. He didn’t even notice King who was trying to climb her way up the back of his shirt. 

It had been a good game as Carolina’s team was up 3-0 and there was only 5 minutes left in the second half. Unless some sort of magic happened, they were guaranteed to win. He was completely enraptured for the past hour and half and so was Matt who was cheering alongside him. As he watched their players push their way up the field toward the goalie, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. 

Neil turned his head to see that same cat he had seen the other day pacing across the windowsill like it owned the damn thing. His neighbor’s dark curtains were open today and Neil could sort of see into the apartment where he spied a cat tree and sofa. 

“Oh my god!” Matt exclaimed and Neil quickly shifted his attention back to the screen to see if they had scored only to find nothing had happened. 

He looked over to Matt who was staring out the window where Neil had been looking. King was barely disturbed by his little outburst as she had curled her way across his shoulders to sleep on him. “That cat’s adorable!” 

Neil glanced back at the cat. “Yeah, it’s pretty cute but be careful there King might get jealous.” 

Matt scooped said cat off his shoulders and into his arms, holding her with care. “I could never replace her! I’m just saying, I’ve been over here countless times and I’ve never seen that cat before.” 

“Neither have I. I’ve only seen it once,” Neil shrugged, staring at the languid cat. 

“Maybe you have a new neighbor,” Matt suggested. 

He frowned. “I doubt it.” 

Neil reached over to scratch behind King’s ears as she sat contently in Matt’s arms. The cat across the way stared at the ground, watching whatever was down there with rapt attention. Its ears flicked back and forth, tail swishing with excitement. 

“You should ask what its name is.” Matt said. 

“What?” Neil asked, blinking in surprise. 

He had never seen nor met his neighbor in the few months he’s been living in this new apartment. In fact, he hadn’t met any of his neighbors, and Neil was totally okay with that. He didn’t really have much of a social life outside of Matt and Dan and all their friends he had come to hang out with due to their closeness. It would be weird if he went over there just to ask about his neighbor’s cat. 

“The cat. You should ask what its name is,” Matt clarified, stealing Neil’s attention away from King. 

Neil furrowed his brows suddenly uncomfortable. “Why? I don’t know who lives there. I don’t even know what they look like.” 

He looked up and stared at the cat as it stood precariously on the window, oblivious to their blatant stares. 

“Yeah, but you’re lonely. Maybe you two can be buddies.” He gasped. “Maybe your cats can have play dates!” 

Neil made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. He looked at Matt with a grimace who reciprocated it with a blinding smile. “I don’t _want_ to be buddies with them. I don’t even know if King would like to have another cat around. I just think their cat’s cute.” 

“And what better way to show it than by asking what the cat’s name is?” 

“And how should I do that? I’m not gonna knock on their door only to ask about their cat. A total stranger asking about their cat…” Neil scoffed. “Yeah, that’s not totally weird.” 

Matt gasped and stood abruptly, dropping King into Neil’s unprepared arms. He made his way over to the haphazard pile of schoolwork Neil refused to deal with or acknowledge. It’s been there since the beginning of the semester and Neil doesn’t have it in him to organize the growing pile of papers and textbooks. Taking care of himself and is cat was enough. As much as Neil liked living alone and away from his Uncle Stuart, there were many things he still needed to work on. He was pretty sure that’s why Matt came around to his place so often instead of the other way around - to make sure that Neil and King were still alive and not dead in a ditch from lack of self-perseverance. 

Neil watched as his friend pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from the large stack. Matt also grabbed a sharpie sitting on the counter and a roll of duct tape that Neil used for repairs. Why he even had tape in his backpack Neil didn’t know. He uncapped the marker and wrote big block letters before turning to show Neil what he had written. 

Neil stared uneasily at Matt and his enthusiasm, lightly stroking King’s soft fur for comfort. 

He ripped some duct tape with his teeth and stuck it to the paper. “Because I know you won’t do anything, I’m gonna tape this paper to your window. If they see, hopefully, they’ll respond.” 

Neil sighed; his fingers anxiously curled tightly into King’s soft fur. “This is stupid.” 

Matt ignored him and posted the paper to his window, blocking his view of the sleeping animal and open curtains. 

Neil spoke again, reaffirming his point. “Matt, this isn’t going to work.” 

Matt shrugged and sat back down like nothing happened. 

“Neil, that cat’s fucking adorable. I want to know its name even if you don’t! What if this leads to King becoming best friend with that other cat? Imagine the cuteness.” 

Neil swallowed his pride. Matt was right. The worst-case scenario would be that his neighbor never responded. It couldn’t hurt to ask and the worst thing that could happen would be that they didn’t respond at all. 

He sighed, trying to ignore the itchy feeling that came with the possibility of being noticed and scrubbed a hand through his curls before he turned his attention back to the remaining minutes of the soccer game. King had fallen asleep in his arms fast and he didn’t want to risk waking her. His neighbor's apartment felt so far away as if it was all the way across the universe and Neil fought the temptation to rip the sign down before his neighbor even had a chance to respond. He pushed down his bubbling anxiety and ignored Matt's messy scrawl. 

_What i_ _s the_ _orange_ _cat_ _called_ _?_

It was out in the world now and all he could do was sit and wait for a response.

**3.**

Neil awoke the following morning to his alarm incessantly ringing too loud for seven thirty in the morning. The numbers were glaring an angry red as he fought to brush the sleep out of his eyes. Usually he was a morning person but last night he had been unable to fall asleep as his insomnia acted up. He had stared at his dark bedroom wall still blank and lifeless before got up and ran in the middle of the night. It was only a few miles of running but once he made it back to his apartment and flopped onto his bed, he finally managed to shut his eyes for a restless few hours of sleep.

King hadn’t minded his sudden desire for a midnight run. In fact, she remained unperturbed by his restlessness and slept on his bed until he got back. Once he had settled under the covers, out of breath and slightly less in his own head, she took it upon herself to make her presence known. The weight of her body on top of his combined with her light purrs had been enough for Neil to pass out for a few hours.

Now, with the light shining through his bedroom window and an 8 am class looming on his mind, Neil rushed to get ready. He quickly fed King and barely made out the door with his backpack to get to his classes on time. In his rush he forgot to check to see if the sleepy orange cat was at its perch once again or if his taped-up question had been answered by his elusive neighbor. 

\----

When Neil arrived home later that day, he was exhausted. His lack of sleep had caught up to him in the middle of the day and he was basically a walking zombie during his last class. Not that he didn’t enjoy his rigorous math classes he just wanted to be home alone with his cat and no one else. While he was getting better at being social, it still took a lot out of him. At least today he had something to blame his lack of functionality on.

He discarded his backpack on the little coffee table in front of his threadbare couch and flopped onto the couch, allowing his body to sink into the cushions in exhaustion. King immediately jumped onto the couch with him acting like she hadn’t seen him in days rather than the few hours he had been away.

Neil let himself relax as he threaded his fingers through King’s dark fur and closed his eyes to rest for a few seconds. A few seconds was all he got though. Neil had forgotten all about Matt’s sign in the window and immediately shot up to check if there was a response. 

In his neighbor’s window sat the orange tabby like always but this time there was a piece of paper taped to the window in a similar fashion to Neil’s own.

_Sir_.

The sign was succinct and to the point.

Neil gave a small smile at the response. Sir, how cute.

Immediately, Neil turned to find some paper and a pen. It took a few minutes to dig through his many boxes for his necessary school supplies and Neil let out a noise of triumph as he found what he was looking for.

_Love it. Sir is a very handsome boy_ , he wrote.

Neil ripped down his old paper and replaced it with the new sign. What was the chance they would even respond again? He got what he was searching for in the first place. Neil watched as King stood and stretched before she jumped down out of view into his mysterious neighbor’s apartment.

He grabbed his phone and immediately texted Matt a picture of the sign.

> **Neil**
> 
> Look
> 
> [img]
> 
> **Matt**
> 
> oh my god !!!! sir !!! that’s so cute
> 
> look at you go
> 
> you gotta write back
> 
> **Neil**
> 
> I did

Neil set his phone down and reluctantly reached for his discarded backpack. He had a lot of work to get started on and no motivation to do it. His mind was elsewhere, specifically on his neighbor’s cat back on the windowsill. He sighed and attempted to start his work, allowing the complex equations to shift his thoughts away from his neighbor if only for a little bit.

This time his neighbor had left him two notes while he wasn’t paying attention.

_Yeah, I know_

_My cousin wants to know what your cat’s name is._

His neighbor’s new signs were waiting for him above Sir who looked like he hadn’t moved an inch since he last looked. Neil was mentally kicking himself for not noticing the movement. Being in Palmetto had left him soft and his reflexes dulled.

The surrounding room had dimmed, only lit by the faint orange glow of golden hour peeking its way through his windows. With a quick glance at his phone, a few hours had passed and it was almost dinner time. King had disappeared sometime during his focus but surely the little demon was waiting for her dinner like always.

The weird part was this time Neil saw a figure suddenly appear in the window. He got a glimpse of bright blond hair and pale skin. The figure reached for Sir and looked around until he passed Neil’s window and stopped. Neil didn’t know if he could see into Neil’s apartment and figured he couldn’t with the way the man froze and his lack of acknowledgement. Suddenly, against Neil’s thoughts, the man raised two fingers to his head in a salute to Neil before he grabbed his cat and disappeared into his apartment like nothing was out of place.

> **Neil**
> 
> update… I think we’re flirting
> 
> he wrote back
> 
> **Matt**
> 
> NEIL WHAT
> 
> **Neil**
> 
> he wants to know King’s name
> 
> and I saw him today
> 
> **Matt**
> 
> you saw him?????
> 
> what was he like
> 
> **Neil**
> 
> blond
> 
> **Matt**
> 
> Well tell him king’s name
> 
> …and tell him ur name ;)
> 
> **Neil**
> 
> haha funny
> 
> no

**4.**

The fourth time Neil had seen Sir in his neighbor’s windowsill, another week had passed. He figured since his neighbor left no response to Neil’s answer they were done with their fleeting means of communication. He hadn’t seen much of his blond neighbor or his cat during the week. before he had seen the large tabby cat again. This time, he also noticed a new sign from his neighbor in their usual messy scrawl. 

_Do you always go for 3am runs or are you just insane?_

Neil grimaced at that sign. Last night hadn’t been great, his mind decided to play tricks on him and pretend he was back in Baltimore and 5 years old again. Unable to help himself, he messily wrote his reply and taped it up, staring Sir in the eyes as he did so. 

_Why do you care?_

For once, Neil stayed put in front of his window, refusing to back down. He leaned over and looked out the window toward the squirrels that both Sir and King were obsessed with watching as they ran across the courtyard. King jumped into the windowsill next to him as he waited and joined his squirrel watching. 

After a few minutes, Neil looked up to see his blond neighbor haphazardly posting his response to his window. Bored hazel eyes met his ice blue and they stared for a second before Neil looked away to read the sign. 

_I don’t_

_What’s your name?_

_So I can put a face to the stupid_

Nice. 

He rolled his eyes and went to grab a piece of blank paper and a marker. In his usual messy scrawl, he wrote two things. 

_Neil_

_What’s yours, asshole_ _?_

He pasted them above King like she had been the one to write those messages. He noticed his neighbor hadn’t left his own window and was actually waiting for Neil’s response. Huh, maybe they were getting to know each other better. Even if it was that he knew the other man was an asshole. 

As he watched the man read his notes, he saw his face shift into something not quite the flat features he usually wore. If he looked hard enough he could see the barest trace of a smirk hidden in his features. Slowly, his neighbor wrote down his own note. 

_Andrew_

Before he could even think to make a comment, Andrew walked away as if he was suddenly bored with their conversation. He left Sir to lounge on his windowsill as always. At least he knew his neighbor’s name now. 

**5.**

Neil had been communicating with Andrew via cats and paper for a week now. He hadn’t learned much about the other boy except his name, he had a cousin, and that he was very straight to the point. He had told Matt all about his current situation with his neighbor and his only response was that he should get to know Andrew. 

It was a bad idea. He could feel it in his bones. Ever since he was a kid Neil was never great at making friends. In fact, his current friends all came as a side effect of befriending the friendly giant that was Matt Boyd, his roommate freshman year of college. 

Neil was totally out of his comfort zone already but his neighbor, despite his short responses, was interesting to communicate with. The fact that they had continued to talk this long was a feat for himself. 

He weighed the pros and cons of asking to meet the blond in person outside of their respective apartment. God, Andrew probably thought he was a hermit that only ever left his apartment for classes or to run at random times of the day. 

Neil paced his apartment as he mulled over his thoughts. King peered at him through her dark eyes before she curled further into herself on the couch and promptly fell asleep. 

He knew Matt would be supportive of whatever he chose to do but he didn’t want to be persuaded. Neil wanted to make this awkward decision for himself. He didn’t know why he was acting like this. Usually when he met people, they were a passing thought in his mind never to be brought up again, but there was something about Andrew and his eyes that made his stomach turn. 

He glanced at said man’s window and saw Sir in his usual perch asleep. It was nice to be a cat. 

Neil picked at his chewed-up nails anxiously. The worst he could say was no and of course he’d respect that. There was an underlying disappointment that lingered in his chest at the thought of Andrew not wanting to see him in the same room. 

A shock of blond hair passed through his field of vision. Neil froze in his spot. If Andrew saw him having a nervous breakdown over nothing he’d probably laugh. Or at least Andrew’s version of laughing. Neil released a breath his didn’t know he was holding and forced his body to relax. As his muscles loosened minutely, his mind continued to race. 

Quickly, he tore down his previous sign that contained stupid facts about his life. 

_Can I come over and_ _pet_ _him?_ Neil wrote and taped up before he could stop himself. He quickly added another note below it. _You don’t have to say yes._

A knot formed in his chest and squeezed his heart tightly with anxiety. Neil stood with bated breath, frozen as he watched Andrew walk around his apartment without a clue. He forced himself to look away and focus on anything but his own handwriting. 

Maybe he did need to talk to someone like Matt always told him to. 

Neil walked away from the window for his own sanity and decided to make himself a cup of tea. He filled his kettle and set it on the stove to boil. As he waited for the water to heat, he spared an anxious glance at his window only to see Andrew and Sir in front of their window. Andrew read his note with no hint of emotion to be seen on his face. 

Carelessly, he grabbed a pen and wrote his response. 

_Yes. Tomorrow @ 3pm._

When Neil saw the note he almost smiled in relief. Wait until Matt heard about this. He’d be so proud of him for socializing on his own without any help. It was a big step up from a few years prior where he could barely interact with anyone but his uncle. 

Sir whipped his tail curiously and both he and Andrew’s eyes followed Neil’s movement across his apartment to answer his note. He stuck his response up on his apartment window and stepped back. 

_See you then_

Andrew considered it carefully and gave Neil a little salute before he headed back into the unknown of his apartment. 

**+1.**

Neil stood in front of Andrew’s apartment at 3pm sharp with his hand poised to knock. He hadn’t expected his neighbor to agree to let him visit his cat but, to be fair, their conversation had become less about Sir and more about learning of his mysterious owner. Neil steeled himself, breathing sharply out of his nose as he knocked. Once, twice. 

Within a few seconds, he heard shuffling from the other side of the door, and he was greeted face-to-face with all black attire and bright blond hair. 

“Hi,” Neil said, awkwardly. 

“Hi,” Andrew responded. He hadn’t offered to let Neil come in yet, so he hadn’t moved a muscle from his spot. His palms began to sweat as he stared. Andrew was shorter than he thought he’d be. 

“I’m Neil,” he offered. 

Andrew nodded, his face a perfectly blank slate. “I know.” After a few more seconds of silence Andrew stepped back and gestured for Neil to come inside. 

He bobbed his head lightly as he walked into Andrew’s apartment. “Thanks.” 

It was odd being in someone else’s apartment. He didn’t know what he was expecting but it wasn’t this. For some reason his mind was picturing every apartment would be the same as Neil’s, but it was clear Andrew had a better sense of interior decorating in his finger than Neil had in his whole body. His place was surprisingly clean and modern for a cat owner. He noted the empty cat tree he usually saw from his own window. It was weird to see the apartment not from the comfort of his own place. 

Across the courtyard, movement caught his eye and Neil’s breath caught in his throat as he saw King’s dark body wind its way onto his windowsill. Her dark eyes stared over into Andrew’s apartment like she knew Neil was there. 

He tore his eyes away from his apartment and turned to Andrew. “Your apartment’s nice. Mine’s a mess.” 

Andrew looked him up and down and hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, I bet.” 

Neil frowned and self-consciously crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, defensively. 

“Exactly what you think it means,” he said before he abruptly changed the subject. “Do you want to see Sir?” 

Right. Sir. He was here to see Andrew’s cat. He had to remind himself not to get lost in Andrew’s presence. 

Neil nodded. “Yeah.” 

Andrew immediately went on a hunt throughout his apartment to find the large tabby cat that Neil had seen so often these past few weeks. However, he was not expecting the cat to be such a large creature. 

In Andrew's arms, Sir appeared even larger. He wasn’t chunky per say, but the cat certainly wasn’t underfed. 

He sat down on the ground and let Andrew set Sir down. The two watched the cat curiously note Neil’s presence, eyeing him warily before he investigated the new person. Neil held out a hand for Sir to sniff and the cat waddled over with some hesitation. After a few minutes of silence, Sir brushed up against Neil, and he was able to run his bony fingers through Sir’s soft fir. 

“Oh,” he breathed, completely enamored with this cat. “Is Sir your only pet?” 

“Yes.” 

“He’s so sweet,” Neil said as he scratched under Sir’s chin, emitting a purr from the furry creature. 

Andrew scoffed and sat down on the ground to get level with the two. His eyes remained trained on the pair. “More like pest. I only keep him around because of my cousin.” 

He could tell that last part was a lie. His apartment was too well-loved and filled with items perfect for any cat owner to know there was no one forcing Andrew to take care of a cat. 

Neil chuckled softly. “I get that. I have King because my Uncle doesn’t trust me to live alone and actually stay in one place.” 

“You a runaway?” Andrew asked. 

Sir pushed his head into Neil’s hands and forced him to scratch behind his ears. Talking about his past used to bother him, and while he still had the occasional nightmare, he was learning to be open with others. For some reason he trusted Andrew with this information even if it was the bare bones. “Former.” 

“What changed?” 

He didn’t look up, but he could feel Andrew’s eyes follow his movements as he continued to pet Sir. “I found family – my friends. They gave me a reason to stay.” 

They sat quietly together. The silence, which usually would unnerve Neil, was a comforting thing and he found himself enjoying it. Andrew was different in that he didn't pry or make inane small talk under the guise of getting to know him. Andrew was a fresh of breath air in his life. 

They chatted for a bit, and Neil learned Andrew was a criminal justice major and only went to Palmetto because of his family. Neil offered his own comment about how he was majoring in math which only warranted an eyeroll from Andrew and a semi-disgusted look. 

Neil glanced out the window and saw King had not moved from her post across the way. _Oh yeah_ , he thought. It was only fair Andrew came over to his to meet King. And if Neil had another chance to hang out with Andrew again, well, that wouldn’t be so bad. 

“Do you want to come over to see King one day?” Neil asked, looking over to Andrew. 

The man was watching him intently and tensed slightly at his question. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting it. 

“I hate you,” he stated. 

Neil frowned, and turned his attention away from the large tabby toward Andrew who sat silently near them just out of reach. There was a slight hesitation in Andrew’s face as he watched Neil continue to play with his cat. 

His eyes narrowed slightly before he sighed, resigned to his fate. “Yes. My cousin and brother will want pictures.” 

Neil relaxed and let himself share a small smile. 

“Okay then,” he said and gave Sir some more attention, refusing to let Andrew see the darkening color on his cheeks. “It’s a date.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Since I have so much time left of my summer break I might write more for this fandom but idk.


End file.
